


Humility & Regret

by TVgirll1971



Series: The Great Prince [3]
Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 18:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVgirll1971/pseuds/TVgirll1971
Summary: After ignoring his father's phone calls for months, Ray isn't happy to see Mr. Prince at the Dead Drop consulting on a new mission.





	Humility & Regret

**Author's Note:**

> This story references events in my last story "Year of the Mole" and takes place and five months later. 
> 
> At this point, Ray and Susan are living together.

Susan was in the kitchen watching Ray cook dinner. She still couldn't believe how good he was. In fact, the first time she brought one of Ray's dishes to the Dead Drop, the whole team was shocked that he made it--well, except Will obviously. Ray told Susan he learned from a cooking class he took in France when he first transferred to Europe. He claimed to take the class because he was bored and wanted something to do. Susan suspected a woman was involved, but regardless of the reason, he liked it.

While cooking, Ray regaled her with some great story he heard at work. Unlike her ex-husband who said he liked his job yet complained nearly every day about it, Ray sincerely enjoyed what he did and the people he worked with. Suddenly, Ray's phone rang. Seeing who was calling, his jovial mood ended and he quickly hung up without answering.

“Your father again?” Susan asked. “Maybe you should pick up, I mean, he obviously wants to talk.”

“Well, he probably should’ve done that before Abby went to jail. What kind father doesn’t show up when his own daughter’s on trial?”

“I know, but I’m sure this was very hard for him too.”

Ray shrugged and asked. “Did I ever tell you what my father said when I told him I wanted to join the Bureau?”

“No.”

“He told me it was a mistake. ‘Being an FBI agent isn’t an easy job, Raymond. It requires focus, discipline. Neither one of which you have.” Ray chuckled briefly. “He was so convinced I wouldn’t hack it.”

Susan touched Ray’s chin so he’d look at her. “Hey. He was wrong. You made it.”

“Barely.” Ray acknowledged. “The thing is, how worried he was about me, he was so proud of Abby. He was convinced that she’d go all the way to the top someday. Then this happens and he just bails. With all that pushing he did, demanding that she be the best, he just cuts and runs. I just can’t talk to him.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

As always, Ray was late for his own meeting. He knew it was a failing and that it annoyed some people. But he couldn’t help it. Things distract him and he never leaves when he should. Either that or he gets stuck in traffic. His father used to tell him he should leave early, but Ray never wanted to do that. It just never bothered him that he was the last to arrive. 

“Hey, party people!” Ray exclaimed as he walked in the Dead Drop. Suddenly, stopped short when he saw none other than his father in the room. “What’s he doing here?” he asked Will.

“Ray, your father was sent to help us on the mission.” Will answered.

Processing this, Ray asked to speak to Will for a minute. 

“What the hell’s going on?” Ray demanded as soon as he and Will entered Will’s office. 

“I’m sorry. The Director called and said your father would be consulting on this one.”

“We already have the mission. Besides, why is the Director even calling you? I’m the liaison officer.” 

“I don’t know.”

“Unbelievable. I’ve been blocking his calls for months so he calls up one of his buddies and gets himself on this case.”

“Look, Ray, maybe him being here’s not a bad idea. I mean, he obviously wants to talk.”

“My father hasn’t wanted to talk to me my entire life. He’s damned well not going to start now.” Ray said, before storming out of the office. 

Walking into the main area, Ray announced. “Okay, team. Our mission this time involves cyberterrorism. Since the former Deputy Director of the FBI is here, maybe he’d like to brief us.” 

Will couldn’t believe it. Ray knew his father didn’t have any information on this mission. He was deliberately setting his father up to fail. As far as Will knew, Ray spent his life intimidated by his father—for him to do this? It just showed how upset Ray was. 

The current mission was to stop Ryan Corrigan, a hacker for hire who was responsible for a number of cyber-attacks in various countries, including the US. At this point, Standish asked what type of methods Corrigan was using. Unfortunately, this was when it became clear that Mr. Prince was out of his element. Having not been briefed on the current mission, he tried to provide insight based on the fact that he was involved in the creation of the FBI’s Cyber Crime Unit. However, his role was supervisory--he had no direct involvement in cyber cases. Plus, as Standish pointed out, the knowledge he did have was over a decade old—which was an eternity when it came to modern tech. Ray had never seen his father flounder like that and watching it didn’t give him the satisfaction he thought it would. 

In what felt like an eternity, but was in reality only a few minutes, Ray finally rescued his father and gave the team their mission. Corrigan used phishing and malware to compromise government websites and his location had been traced to an office in Bern, Switzerland. The team’s mission was not only to apprehend Corrigan, but also stop any cyberattack that may be in progress. 

At this point, Mr. Prince suggested that only part of the team should go to Switzerland. Will and Frankie to apprehend Corrigan and Standish and Jai to handle the technical side of things. Though, he knew Ray wouldn’t like it, Will had to concede that was a good plan. 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

“Can you believe the nerve of him? Calling up a favor so he can consult on this mission?” Ray complained when they got home that evening. 

“I know, you mentioned it the whole way here.” Susan remarked dryly. 

“I mean, cybercrime? I know more about this stuff than he does and I hardly know anything.”

“It’s obvious that your father wants to talk to you. I mean, he’s been calling for months.”

“Well, I’m not talking to him.” Ray sulked. 

“Would it really hurt to hear what he has to say?” Susan asked

“What? That he hates his daughter?”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Then why wasn’t he there?” Ray asked, clearly upset. “From the time she was arrested until they put her in federal prison, it was radio silence. He wasn’t there for her, okay. When the time came, nobody was there.”

“You were.” 

“Yeah, after the fact.” Ray said grudgingly. “Nobody stopped it and that’s how Ollerman got to her. Because no one had a clue what the hell was going on.” 

Susan wished she could make him feel better. She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault. Hell, she had told him that, but there was a difference between knowing something and feeling it. Sadly, she knew the guilt Ray carried would stay with him and there was nothing she could do about it. 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

The next day, while the most of the team was on their flight to Switzerland. Ray was in his office looking for any information that might be useful. Just as he was about to take a break, he heard someone come in. 

“Wow. Nice office.”

Startled, Ray looked up. Of course, his father would just walk in like he owned the place. “Let me guess. It’s too good for me.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“No. But you were thinking it. I’m middle management, remember?”

Getting down to business, Mr. Prince sat down and said, “I was wondering if we could talk about Abigail.” 

“Well, you probably should have done that months ago.”

“You’re right. And I have no excuse for that, other than...”

“You know what? I don’t care.” Ray interrupted, heatedly. “We both know you don’t think very highly of me, and, I’m fine with that. But Abby was your golden child, she lived to make you happy, and the minute she was in trouble, you just dropped her.” 

“You don’t know what it’s like. To have a child do something like that. Something so against your own values.” 

“And whose fault it that? Maybe if you’d been more of a father and less of a drill instructor, this wouldn’t have happened. But no, we had to be the best and the brightest and if we weren’t, then we weren’t good enough. Maybe if she’d actually been able to talk to you, she wouldn’t be in jail right now.” Ray stood up to leave. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a meeting to get to.” 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Susan was at home working on her profile of Ryan Corrigan. Normally, she’d go to the Dead Drop to work but, for some reason she didn’t really want to be alone at the bar working. Besides, the rest of the team was still on route to Switzerland so they wouldn’t need the profile until the next day anyway. Suddenly, Susan was interrupted by a knock on the door. 

“Mr. Prince.” Susan said, surprised. “I’m sorry, Ray’s not here.”

“I know. Actually, I came to talk to you. May I come in?” 

“Of course.” Susan replied.

As he walked in, Mr. Prince began. “I’m sure you’re aware that Raymond isn’t speaking to me.”

Susan nodded, “I know.”

“He blames me for what happened with his sister. That I was too hard on her. The thing is, I only pushed my children to make them better. I wanted them to succeed.”

“I don’t think that’s entirely true." Susan said bluntly. “Honestly? I think you see your children as extensions of yourself. Their success reflects well as you, their failure the opposite.”

“So, you agree, this was my fault?”

Susan shook her head. “No. Our parents do have a hand in our development. But, ultimately, Abby was responsible for her own actions.”

Not looking at Susan, Prince chuckled humorlessly. “You know, for the longest time, my biggest fear was that Raymond would embarrass me on the job. That he’d make some colossal mistake.” Suddenly, his voice became haunted, “I never expected this. Not from any of my children.” Looking directly at Susan, he continued. “I want to see Abigail but every time I try to visit, she refuses to see me.”

“That makes sense. Jail is the last place she’d want you to see her.”

“I’m not a young man, Ms. Sampson. And the thought of never seeing my daughter again…’ Unable to finish that sentence, Prince paused and switched gears. “She’ll listen to Raymond. He can get her to see me.”

“So, that’s what this is about? You want to use Ray to see Abigail.”

Prince looked surprised. “What? No, I’m not using him.”

“That’s how he’ll see it.”

“Well, then he’s wrong. I just want his help.”

“And what have you done to earn it? From what I can tell, you’ve done nothing to criticize him his whole life. You expect him to just forget a lifetime of hurt and do you a favor?” 

Realization setting in, a stunned Prince said quietly. “And that’s what I’ve done. Hurt my children.” 

That’s when Susan saw it. The look in his eyes. It wasn’t shame she saw, it was sadness. She recognized that look—it was the exact look Ray had when he was being vulnerable.

Sympathetic, Susan said. ”I don’t think you’re the only person Ray blames for Abby. I think he blames himself.”

“Why would he do that?” 

“Because he didn’t grasp how hurt and angry she was. I think he blames himself for not stopping this before it started.”

Prince smiled sadly, “I’ve dealt with inside threats too many times in my career. It’s not easy spotting the signs. Especially, if it’s someone close to you.”

“I know but it still hurts. And as angry as he is at you, I think he’s angrier at himself.”

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

A few hours later, when Ray came home, Susan carefully broached the subject of his father’s visit. 

“Your father came to see me today.”

“Let me guess. I wouldn’t talk to him so he went to you.”

“He says that Abby isn’t letting him visit.”

“I don’t blame her.” Ray said dismissively. 

“The thing is, Abby’s going to be in jail for a long time.”

“I know. Thirty years.”

“That’s right; which means there’s a very good chance your father won’t be around to see her get out.”

“That’s not my problem. He wanted to see her, he should’ve been here earlier.” 

Susan wasn’t used to Ray being this flippant. Normally, he was one of the most easygoing guys out there. For him to be this uncaring? He was definitely holding onto some anger. 

“You’re absolutely right.” She admitted. “He should have. But I really think he wants to make amends.”

“Whether Abby wants to see him or not, that’s up to her.” 

“I know. I think maybe he’s hoping you could intercede on his behalf.”

“Like I said, that’s up to her.” He repeated and walked past her, out of the room. 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

The next day, Ray was in his office catching up on paperwork when he heard a familiar voice. 

“May I come in?” Of course, it was Ray’s father. 

“I don’t know why you’re asking.” Ray said, not even bothering to look up. ”You’re going to anyway.” 

Prince went over to Ray’s desk to see what he was working on. “Expense reports. I always hated doing those.”

“They’re not that bad.” Ray replied. 

“I talked to Director Casey. He says you’re doing good job here.”

Ray looked up. “Don’t. You weren’t impressed with me before. Don’t act like you are now.”

“I guess I deserved that.” Prince admitted sheepishly. “Look, the reason I came is to apologize. I wasn’t a very good father to you. Every mistake you made, I turned into a personal insult. That was wrong, I see that now, and I am truly sorry. You deserved better.” He paused for a moment and then continued. “So did Abigail. When she was transferred from D.C. to Philadelphia, I was so concerned with how it affected her professionally; I never even considered how it affected her personally. I failed her. Then when the trial happened, I couldn’t face it. But it wasn’t because I was ashamed of her. I was ashamed of my own failure as a father. I took the coward’s way out and that’s something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.” At that point, his father sat down. “The truth is, you were the brave one. You were there when Abigail needed someone and it’s obvious that you got that strength of character in spite of me, not because of me.”

Ray was dumfounded. His father had never apologized to him in his entire life. But with his father being so brutally honest, Ray felt the need to too. “I should’ve known what she was doing. The Trust always seemed two steps ahead of us and it never occurred to me for a second that she was the reason. It just never entered my head.”

“It wouldn’t have.” His father said. 

“Why? Because I’m too dumb?” Ray asked without anger

“No, because like me, you can’t imagine anyone in the Bureau being dirty. I’ve always gotten it wrong. Look at Ollerman, I thought he was a wunderkind. I even boasted he was going to be one of the best Directors the Bureau ever had. The point is, you shouldn’t feel guilty for missing the signs. They’re hard to spot, and with someone you trust, who’s family? No one could’ve expected you to know.” It was at that point, Ray heard Jai’s voice on Ray’s laptop.

“Ray? Ray, are you there? We have a problem.”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?”

“Corrigan changed locations. We’ve tracked him but the Swiss Order of Police is denying us access to the building.” 

“What do you mean? I had everything set up.” Ray argued.

“I know. But now he’s apparently holed up in a residential area. When I told the Order of Police about the switch, they said I had to go through the municipal police. However, when I called them, they flat out denied the request.” 

“Well, how did you ask?”

“What do you mean, how did I ask? I told them we had to enter the neighborhood to apprehend a criminal.” 

“Okay, but what did you offer them?”

“What do you mean? What did I offer?”

“"Quid pro quo, Agent Datta.” Prince interjected. “An exchange of services. You offer to do something for them in exchange for their help.”

"Yes. I'm familiar with the concept.” Jai said, “But why should I do that? We're all professionals. They should just honor my request."

Ray smirked "Well, Will should forget that 20 bucks I owe him because we're buddies. But guess what?” After a short pause, he continued. “Just me a little time to sort this out. I’ll call you back.”

Twenty minutes later, after being promised the Bureau’s help in a local case and being assured that Jai would never contact them again, the municipal police granted permission for the team to apprehend Corrigan. 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

The next day, Ray was in his office doing paperwork again when he heard a familiar voice.

“I do love this office.” Seeing Ray’s face, Mr. Prince quickly elaborated. “I don’t mean anything by that, I promise.” Getting serious, he continued. “Look, Raymond, Ray. I know I haven’t been the most supportive of your career, but. I think you’re doing a really good job here. And I do mean that.”

“Thanks.” Ray replied kindly.. “And uh, I’ll talk to Abby about letting you visit. I can’t promise anything, but I think I can convince her.”

“Thank you.” Before turning to leave, Prince added. “And, regardless of how it goes with Abigail, I, I’d like to have lunch with you sometime. Just to catch up? “

“I’d like that.” Ray responded with a small smile.


End file.
